Welcome Buddies
by TheOriginalSnapespeare
Summary: Jenny left for Paris over the summer and though she and Brian are going to stay friends, he's starting his Sophomore year single. Luckily Ted and Ki will be returned to VGHS with him. But what does it mean when Brian D is assigned as the Welcome Buddy to Retro Gaming Freshman Zelda Kovac? [Reviews Appreciated!]
1. Chapter 1

Fifteen year old Zelda Kovac was sitting in her homeroom staring at her phone. Normally she liked study hall, it gave her time to think, time to do homework, whatever she wanted. However, lately the teen felt she'd had too much time to think. Over the past two weeks the next round of Video Game High School acceptance emails had been sent out, and Zelda had been waiting with bated breath for an email of her own. Mom and Dad had insisted She'd be a shoe-in for one of the coveted spots on the VGHS acceptance list, but as time had gone on, there still was no email from the school's dean, Sergeant Ernie Calhoun.

"Come on, refresh...refresh!" She mumbled while rapidly tapping the refresh button on her email app. After what felt like the hundredth page refresh, a new email popped up. Nervously, Zelda peeked at sender; Dean Calhoun. "Oh my god! Oh my god!" Zelda burst excitedly.

"Miss Kovac? Is everything all right?" Zelda's eye's shot up at her homeroom teacher before she could read the subject of the email.

"Uh yeah, everything is fine." Zelda promised before stuffing her phone in her pocket. "Can I um..have the bathroom key?" The teacher nodded, holding the key out for Zelda to take. She did her best to remain calm as she got up from her seat took the bathroom key. New England Academy was as far from VGHS as any high school in the US could get, both literally and figuratively. Located on the eastern coast of the country, NEA boasted some of the strictest rules in the country; hence the locked bathrooms. Walking calmly towards the second floor girls bathroom, Zelda passed classrooms full of unformed students, seated in separate classes for boys and girls. She was relieved to find the bathroom empty but ducked into a stall just in case anyone stumbled in. "Ok, Email..." Zelda unlocked her phone an tapped her email app open again. _Oh No...where'd it go...no, no, no..._Zelda started to panic because the email from Dean Calhoun had disappeared. _Old mail folder, duh!_ She could have slapped herself. "There it is!"

**CONGRATULATIONS!** The subject of the email proclaimed. Zelda's heart was racing as she opened the email. As expected there was a video clip with a thumbnail of Dean Calhoun. Zelda was prepared for exactly this sort of thing, and she slipped a set of earbuds out of her cardigan pocket. _Well that's one use for the school uniform._ She mused, plugging the headphones in and pressing play on the video. Immediately the imposing figure of Dean Calhoun came to life on her cellphone screen.

"You will not study physics! You _will_ study physics engines!" Calhoun's voice bellowed. "You will not study art! You _will_ study the art of war! You will learn about biology by bathing in the blood of your enemies! Sound good? Well welcome, to VGHS!" Dean Calhoun disappeared, and was replaced by the VGHS logo. A banner of yellowed letters filled the screen. "**You Have been ACCEPTED!"** they promised. The rest of the email was information about when to show up, how to confirm her acceptance, but Zelda was far too excited to get through all that just then. Saving the email to her favorites so she could show it to her parents, Zelda stashed her headphones and her phone back on her pockets and returned to her homeroom.

"Uh, Miss Gershwin..." Zelda moaned dramatically as she returned the key to her teacher. "I'm not feeling too hot, so I think I'm going to call my driver and have him take me home for the rest of the day."

"I suppose you'll want a hall pass." The teacher groaned dryly. She scribbled out at note and thrust it in Zelda's direction.

"Thanks!" Zelda smiled as she slipped the note from her teacher's hands. "I, mean...uh thanks." She frowned remembering she was faking sick. Emptying everything out of her locker, which really only contained her backpack and a jacket anyway, Zelda phoned Leo. Leo was the family driver who took her anywhere she needed to go. "Hi Leo, It's Z...Yes everything's fine, Just can you pick me up from school. Awesome! I'm meet you in the office!"

"Can I help you with something? " The main office clerk questioned upon seeing Zelda.

"Just waiting for my driver to pick me up." She explained. "I've got a hall pass from my teacher." The girl explained for extra assurance.

"Just have a seat over there then." The office clerk pointed to a row of chairs before returning to her work.

Zelda didn't have to wait long for Leo to pick her up from school. He arrive just under ten minutes after Zelda had called him. Leo signed the required forms to excuse her from school, but he waited until the two were in the car before asking what was wrong.

"Miss Z, may I ask _why_ you wanted to leave school early?"

"Yes, you may!" Zelda smiled. "Leo, today was my last day at NEA."

"You finally got your acceptance letter to Video Game High School?" Leo was genuinely excited for Zelda. After all he'd been working for Mr. And Mrs. Kovac before Miss Z was even born, he'd watched her grow up over the years and he knew what this acceptance meant to her.

"Did you ever doubt I would?" Zelda was still beaming when Leo snuck a glance at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Not for a second Miss Z."

"Oh Leo this is the best day ever!" The teenage girl gushed. "I can't wait to tell Mom and Dad!"


	2. Chapter 2

"This is the worst day off my life!" Zelda groaned as she dragged her luggage behind her. "I _really_ should have let Leo come with me." Zelda's parents had paid the driver a nice bonus to travel with their daughter and to ensure she was delivered to VGHS safely. After arriving at the school, late but safe, Zelda argued with Leo that she was more than capable meeting Dean Calhoun alone. Now that she was scrambling frantically through the VGHS halls, she really wished there was a familiar face to help her out. Glancing down at the map Z have saved to her phone, She followed the long hallway and reached Calhoun's office.

"Few!" Zelda exclaimed, whipping sweat from her brow. She reached out to knock on the office door but someone called out to her.

"Are you Zelda?" Dean Calhoun barked at her.

"Uh, yes I am." Zelda gulped.

"Well get in here, you're late!" Zelda tugged her luggage along and entered the office.

"I'm sorry I'm late! You see my family is..."

"I know who your family is!" Dean Calhoun growled. "You think I didn't know your dad made the first gaming computer? Or that I admitted the Daughter of Serpent Gaming Computers CEO without knowing it?"

"I wasn't going to...What I meant was, my family is from the other side of the country I couldn't get out here during Freshman orientation." Zelda explained.

"I know, you're mommy called and explained it to me." Dean Calhoun said. He quickly typed Zelda's name into his computer and her school ranking came up. "Zelda Kovac, Height Five-feet-five-inches, Grade Freshman, Gamer Tag: Princess_Z, School Rank Three Hundred Ninty-Nine. Not Bad_ Princess_...if you would have showed up on time, you may have even scored some more points, but _you were late._"

"I'm sorry Dean Calhoun." Zelda apologized. "I know you must think that I feel like because my dad is who he is that...Well you must think I feel entitled or something...But I promise you sir I am taking this opportunity seriously. If I flunk out of VGHS I've got to go back to one of the _worst_ high school's imaginable. I mean, I only went there for a month and I was miserable! There we so many rules and...and I'm getting off the subject here. Bottom line Mr. Dean Sir, I'm here to game, and I'm here to be sucessful."

"You're going to need a welcome buddy." The Dean grunted. "They show you around school, help you find your way, hold your hand and sing Kumbaya when you're homesick...Anyway I assigned all the good Welcome Buddies to kids who could be bothered to show up on time so, you can have the janitor." Dean Calhoun pushed the intercom button on the phone in his office. "Brian D, my office, now. Calhoun out."

A few minutes later VGHS's famous Brian D entered the Dean's office. He was wearing a grey janitor's jumpsuit, and a frown. Huffing his brown hair out of his eyes, Brian D gripped the mop in his hand.

"What's up Calhoun?" The teenage boy asked.

"What's up, is Princess here needs a Welcome Buddy, and you still need to work off your tuition, so get welcoming, _buddy._"

"You mean...you don't have anything for me to clean up?" Brian smiled. It was then that he noticed the girl with the wavy brown hair sitting opposite Calhoun at the Dean's desk. She was looking back at him with round green eyes who shone so brightly behind thick black rimmed glasses.

"You want more to clean up?" Calhoun questioned. Brian opened his mouth to say no, but Calhoun had already swept one of his giant arms across his desk, successfully knocking the desk's contents to the ground. "You can clean that up after you're done welcoming your new buddy, She's on Frag Floor. I'm sure you remember where that is. Welcome to VGHS Princess." Zelda quickly got to her feet and dragged her luggage into the hall.

"Let me help you with that!" Brian said. He leaned his mop against the wall in Calhoun's office, and offered again to help the freshman girl with her bags. "Here, let me take one of those."

"Honestly...That would be great!" Zelda offered Brian D the handle of one of her rolling suitcases. Taking the handle of the suitcase Brian led the way towards the dorm building.

"So is your name really Princess?" Brain D raised his eyebrows at the VGHS newcomer.

"Technically it's Zelda." She explained.

"Ah, like legend of Zelda." Brian nodded, now he understood.

"Yeah. It's one of my parent's favorite games. And my gamer tag is Princess Z. Which is why Calhoun was calling me Princess."

"Yeah, Pretty much everyone goes by a nickname or a gamer tag here. My friend Ki Swan; her real name is Kimberly, she'll be your RA by the way, but anyway she goes by Ki. We used to have a guy who went by 'The Law'."

"Yeah," Zelda nodded as she remembered the news stories from the past year. "He was First Person Shooter...sorry FPS. That's how you got into VGHS right?"

"Yeah. I was AFK and he thought he could smoke me but...You probably don't want to hear all of that right now." Brian let his sentence trail off. He was going to have to learn not to blab his life story to every cute girl that came his way.

"It's okay, I followed you on the news last year. It's a real under dog story." Zelda said. "Are you still on the FPS Varsity team?"

"Yeah." Brian told her awkwardly. He really hated talking about himself. "Calhoun made me Captain actually."

"Wow that's great! I had heard that your last Captain, Jenny, she went Pro with the Paris Panthers." '

"Yup." Brian confirmed as the two began climbing up the stairs to the frag floor. "So are you planning on registering as FPS?"

"Oh god no!" Zelda snorted. "Sorry, FPS is fun and all but I think it's a little too...intense for me."

"I can dig that." Brian knew FPS wasn't for everyone so he wasn't really surprised when Zelda said she wasn't planning on registering for it. "Have you decided on a gaming specialty yet?"

"I mean my name is Zelda, with a name like that, how could I not be into retro gaming?" Zelda and Brian had finally reached the frag floor and together they were rolling her suitcases down the hall. "Mostly platforms and 2D scrollers...I hardly ever touch anything newer than a PS2."

"Well, here we are!" Brian declared as he and Zelda neared Ki's door. Being back on the frag floor brought back memories for the FPS Varsity Captain. At the start of the new year Brian and Ted had moved to the arcade floor where most of the Sophomore's lived, but here at Frag Floor, that was where everything had first started. Reaching out, Brian knocked on Ki's door.

Ki, a red-headed girl with big green eyes answered the door. Looking up from the tablet in her hand, Ki smiled at the sight of Brian and Zelda at her door.

"Brian!" She greeted her friend cheerily. "Who's your friend?"

"Ki, this is Zelda Kovac, she's one of your residents and I'm her Welcome Buddy." Brian explained.

"Zelda Kovac..." Ki repeated. She tapped frantically at her tablet trying to access her list of residents. "Here you are! Oh...you're t_hat_ Zelda Kovac, I'd thought so when I first saw your name." Ki was still smiling and she sounded impressed rather than accusatory. "My Dad, Kenneth Swan, he worked with your dad recently on a fighting game project."

"Oh yeah, I remember Dad saying something about that. Only great things of course." Zelda nodded. She liked Ki Swan and Brian D. As a matter of fact she loved everything about VGHS so far. It was quickly turning into everything she'd ever dreamed of.

"It says here your gamer tag is Princess Z." Ki read from the information on her tablet. "Do you want to be called..."

"Please don't called me Princess!" Zelda begged immediately. "Zelda or Z is fine."

"Okay." Ki wasn't the least bit shaken by this request. A few of the other Freshman had requested alternate versions of their gamer tags already. "So you'll be in six thirty eight with Kat...That's Kat with a K." The RA clarified. "I can show you the way if..."

"Oh, I'll do it Ki!" Brian insisted. "Ted said you were working on designing a new game for the Rhythm guys so..."

"Oh yes!" Ki's eyes widened. "I almost forgot! Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Nah it's fine." Brian waved her off. "Sides if I'm off helping Zelda get settled, that's less time I'm spending as a Janitor. " Brian and Z said goodbye to Ki and he led the way to room Six thirty eight. Using the key that Ki had given her, Zelda unlocked the door.

The dorm room was a standard VGHS double. A set of bunk beds took up most of the right side wall. A book shelf staircase was nestled at the foot of the bed. To the left side of the room, there was a sink, microwave and a minifridge resting on a short kitchen counter. The room also had a closet, two work stations, and a comfortable couch. Zelda's roommate Kat was sitting on the couch a VGHS tablet in her hands. Once Kat spotted Zelda and Brian she immediately paused her game and jumped to her feet. Brian didn't even realize she was standing at first because Kat was so short. Standing just five feet tall, Kat's curly Blonde hair almost had more body than she did.

"Are you Zelda?" She questioned excitedly.

"Yeah, just call me Z." Zelda mumbled as Kat pulled her into an unexpected hug.

"Is he your boyfriend or your brother?" Kat pointed at Brian when the roommates separated. For the first time Brian and Zelda noticed the blonde's southern accent.

"Who Brian?" Zelda, looked over her shoulder at her welcome buddy. The freshman girl's cheeks were flushed and she looked up at Brian apologetically. "He's my welcome buddy."

"Ohh, I'm sorry just assumed that because you were together that..."

"No it's uh, it's ok." Brian smiled at Kat and placed a reassuring hand on Zelda's shoulder. "I'm just here to help Zelda get settled, show her around."

"That's nice of you." Kat said. "My welcome buddy just showed me to my room and downloaded a map app on my phone. Haven't seen her since."

"Oh well, you're welcome to join us if you want." Brian invited. He retracted his hand from Zelda's should when he realized she might not want to follow him around all afternoon. "Unless, Zelda wants me to split and just leave you two to it."

"I'll pass on the tour if it's all the same to you." Kat replied. She picked up her tablet and went back to her game.

"I was going to unpack later and jump right to the tour, but I know Dean Calhoun said you might have some more work to do, so if you want to jump ship..."

"No!" Brian jumped in quickly. "I mean if you're up for a tour, I'll give you a tour!"

"Okay," Zelda nodded. "Tour a way, Welcome buddy!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey Do you mind if we stop by my room on the way? I might have to run off for an FPS thing later, so I wanted to ask my buddy Ted to come along with us, that way if I do have to duck out on you, I won't be leaving you stranded in the center of the school." Brian explained as he and Zelda left her dorm.

"No that sounds great." Zelda agreed.

"Awesome. I live on the Arcade floor, just this way..." Brian led the way once again and they headed towards the room he shared with Ted. Holding her VGHS issued tablet in one hand, Z tried not to look like such a noob. She followed closely behind Brian until he swung open a door in the middle of the hall. "Hey Ted!" Brain greeted as he stepped into his room. Zelda scurried in behind her welcome buddy and she spotted Ted Wong for the first time. Ted was an average looking Asian American with no distinguishable features, except for his nice smile. It wasn't that Ted had an abnormally large mouth or anything, just that Zelda could see so much personality in his smile. The second thing Zelda noticed about Ted, was that he was sporting a brown leather jacket with an inverse gold lightning bolt spray painted on it.

"Brian, my man, what is up?" Ted greeted his best friend cheerfully.

"Nothing much buddy. Got out of janitor duty today because Calhoun needed me to be a Freshman welcome buddy, which reminds me!" Ted had been wondering who the girl following Brian around was. "Ted, this is Zelda Kovac."

"Zelda, Nice to meet you!" Ted held out his hand to Zelda.

"It's nice to meet you Ted." Z said as she shook Ted's hand.

"Ted, is a Drifter." Brian explained.

"Drift King, actually." Ted corrected.

"And, Zelda," Brian ignored Ted." is planning on registering as a Retro Gamer."

"Ohh Retro." Ted cringed. "It's a dying class compared to those jocks on the FPS team." He grinned and slapped Brian on the back proudly.

"Drifting's not exactly the most popular thing out there either. Especially since the Kart racers broke off into their own class, right?" Zelda could tell by the disappointed look on Ted's face that she was right. "Hey, no sweat." Zelda told Ted casually. "Who cares what's popular? We like the games that we like."

"Yeah!" Ted's smiled returned to his face.

"So Ted, I was going to take Zelda for a tour of the school, wanna come with?" Brian asked. He really didn't want to have to ditch Z before they'd gone through the majority of the school.

Ted agreed to join Brian and Zelda on their tour. Together the trio visited most of the school's hot spots. Ted and Brian pointed out the quad where registration would be held tomorrow and they showed Zelda where Grand Theft Auditorium was. After an hour or so of touring around the school they'd shown Z the school in it's entirety.

"Hey guys I'm really sorry but I've gotta split." Brian breathed as he checked the time on his phone. "Are you cool Z, do you want me to show you the way back to the dorm building?"

"I was actually thinking about getting some lunch...the way Ted talked about the pizza when we walked through there..."

"Oh yeah, the Pizza's great here." Brian said. "Do you need me to show you the way back?" The cafeteria really wasn't anywhere near Calhoun's office ,where Brian needed to be for his FPS meeting, but he wanted to make sure Zelda had everything she needed to be comfortable.

"I can do it!" Ted volunteered. He knew his best friend well, and he knew Brian wouldn't think twice about being late for his meeting with Calhoun. But He was the FPS Varsity captain! He had to think about the whole team, not just himself. "You don't want to be late for your first strategy meeting man, I got this!"

"Thanks Ted! Oh and Z, let me give you my number, so if you need anything..."

"That'd be great." Zelda opened the directory app on her tablet and held it out for Brian. His fingers danced across the screen as he tapped in his cellphone number.

"Ok, I've really got to go!" Brian said goodbye and headed off to Calhoun's office. Zelda tapped the save button and looked up at Ted.

"You don't have to take me to the Cafeteria if you don't want to Ted, I've got the map app." Zelda gestured to her tablet.

"Are you kidding me?" Ted smiled. "You mentioned pizza, now I'm starved! Besides," Ted flung his arm over Zelda's shoulders. "A friend a Brian's is a friend of mine!"

"I'm not sure we're friends." Zelda shrugged as she and Ted progressed down the hall, his arm still around her. "I think he's just being nice..."

"But you gave you his phone number." Ted pointed out. "He didn't have to do it since all the team Captain's have their phone numbers posted in the school directory." Zelda didn't have a counter argument so she tried to change the subject.

"How did you and Brian become friends Ted?" She questioned.

"Oh it's a great story!" Ted began animatedly describing to Zelda the story of how he and Brian met.

After lunch Ted and Zelda headed back to the dorm building so that the Freshman girl could unpack her things. Zelda was surprised to see Kat was still sitting on the couch in their dorm, looking as if she hadn't moved all day.

"Hey Kat." The Brunette greeted politely.

"Hey." Kat acknowledged her roommate, not looking up from her tablet.

"Whatcha playing there?" Z questioned over her shoulder.

"Banana Kart 7." Kat grunted as she spun her tablet to complete a turn. Zelda reached for one of her suitcases and stared to unpack.

"Are you a Kart Racer?" Zelda asked politely. She'd never been all that great at connecting with kids her age, but after spending the morning with Ted and Brian, she was hoping VGHS would be different.

"Well, I'm swerving more towards Drifting," Kat answered, not taking her eyes off the game for a second. "But sign-ups are tomorrow and If that fills up before I have a chance to register, I'll need a back up."

"Hence the cart racing." Zelda nodded with understanding. "I should probably get some practice in myself." She admitted while stretching a fitted sheet over her bottom bunk mattress. "But I so don't want to set up my systems."

"Set up your systems?" Kat asked. Her eyes flickered up from her tablet once her kart race concluded.

"I'm a Retro gamer." Zelda said adjusting her black framed glasses on her face.

"So many wires!" Kat snorted.

"That's why my systems have their own suitcase." Z gestured her head in the direction of the case in question while continuing to make her bed.

"That takes some dedication." Kat marveled before starting another round of Banana Kart 7. Zelda had to admit that Kat was probably right about that as she continued to unpack.


	4. Chapter 4

Zelda and Kat went down to breakfast together the next morning. Kat had gotten in hours of drifting and Kart racing practice last night and Zelda was sure she'd make whichever team she decided to sign up for. In the end, Zelda herself elected not to set up her suitcase full of game systems last night. She decided to save time by playing a few emulators on her tablet instead.

"How'd things go with your emulators last night?" Kat asked Zelda as the roommates sat down, trays in hand.

"Alright." Zelda shrugged. "I'm not really trying to land on a team though. I just want to declare my clan and study it."

"How very...glass half full of you." Kat said. She didn't share her roommate's sentiments at all. Speed was in her blood. She was a racer. Besides she didn't really see why Zelda wouldn't want to be on the Retro team since everyone registered to a clan had to try out for its respective teams.

"It's just, Retro gaming is such a broad class." Zelda expanded her point.

"I just hope the Captain of the Drift team is cool." Kat sighed.

"He seemed nice enough to me." Zelda said.

"_He?_ You've met the Drifter Captain and didn't tell me?"

"Uh yeah." Zelda hadn't really thought it was important to mention before, but now that she thought of it, she could see why Kat would've wanted to know. "Remember Brian, My Welcome Buddy? His best friend is Ted, the Drift King."

"What was he like?" Kat kept firing questions about Ted at Zelda throughout their breakfast. Z breathed a sigh of relief when the morning meal concluded. The roommates walked to the quad together where members from each clan were set up to facilitate the sign-ups.

"That's Ted there." Zelda recognized him instantly from his very unique jacket.

"Thanks, wish me luck!" Kat called ask she raced off towards the Drifter table.

"Hey Zelda!" Z whipped her head around trying to find out who was calling to her. She spotted Brian waving at her from behind the FPS table. Sign-ups had just opened, but the FPS team already had a small line forming. Brian gestured for her to join him behind the table.

"Hi Brian, good turnout for you guys huh?" Zelda asked the varsity captain when she joined his side.

"Well, FPS is a pretty popular class." Brian sighed. "The real question, is can any of these noobs play?"

"They have to be half-way decent," Zelda encouraged. "How else would they get into VGHS?"

"That's a good point." Brian nodded. "Have you registered yet?"

"No, me and Kat just got here." pointed a finger in the direction of the drifter table. "Which reminds me, you're going to have to apologize to Ted for me."

"Uh oh, why?" When Brian returned to his room yesterday Ted had only good things to say about Zelda.

"Nothing I did directly!" Zelda assured him. "But I found out that Kat, my roommate, she wants to be a Drifter, and I mentioned that I'd met Ted when you showed me around...She's obsessed with getting on the Drifting Team."

"Really?" Brian was surprised, from what he'd seen of Kat she didn't seem like the typical Drifter.

"Yeah. It surprised me too. She was up all night practicing, but at least she takes it seriously." Zelda said. "I should probably go register for Retro, but I'll see you around."

"Yeah," Brian smiled. "See you around." _Maybe Ted was right._ Z thought as she strolled through the alley of sign-up tables. _Maybe Brian does want to be friends. _

Zelda stopped short when she spotted the Retro gaming table. A large print out of an NES controller hung like a banner over the booth. Fellow retro gamers were seated around the table playing with vintage handheld devises. Zelda slowly tugged her Legend of Zelda lanyard off her neck, and gripped her ID card tightly. She strode over to the booth and introduced herself.

"Hi, I'm Zelda!" She greeted the other gamers. Several sets of eyes looked up at her.

"Hey, I'm Mario. Captain of the Retro Gaming team." A tan guy with blonde hair held out his hand. Zelda reached out timidly and shook his hand. "This is Mrs. Pacman," A Blonde girl with a large pink bow in her hair shook Zelda's hand next. "That's Sheriff," A tall skinny guy in a cowboy hat tipped his hat to her, " That's my younger brother Luigi," Luigi shook Zelda's hand and gave it a hearty shake. "And lastly, that's Luigi's girlfriend Daisy." A brunette dressed in a daisy printed floral top was the last to shake Zelda's hand. Based solely off first impressions, Zelda liked all of the Retro gamers. Like Z herself, the other retro gamers styled themselves as Hipsters. Their interests in retro gaming extended out to record players and other past times the world had forgotten.

"So, you're interested in Retro gaming?" Luigi asked.

"Uh, yeah." Zelda had assumed that was obvious when she'd approached the table.

"Well, you certainly have the look." Sheriff appraised Zelda's appearance with approval. Zelda looked down at her attire self-consciously. Cat faces floated around the pattern of her blue sundress and a pair of Black leggings were tucked into black studded combat boots.

"Never mind him," Mrs. Pacman insisted. "Swipe away!" She swept her hand down and gestured towards the registration machine. Without a second thought Zelda swiped her ID badge through the machine. A headshot of Zelda's face and her full name **Zelda Kovac** flashed across the screen.

"Wait, your name's really Zelda?" Mario marveled from the other side of the table.

"Uh, yeah, but you can just called me Z if ou want..."

"No, that's prefect!" The Retro captain beamed. "Mario's not my real name, and I'm sure it's obvious that everyone else is using nickname's too."

"Except me." Daisy piped in cheerily.

"Right, except for Daisy, and now you! Welcome to the team Zelda!" Mario shook Zelda's hand for a second time to officially welcome her to the team.

"Thanks," Zelda smiled as she pushed some windblown hair from her face. "So what time are try-outs?"

"Noon time, Classroom two fifteen, see you there Zelda."


	5. Chapter 5

"Z!" A breathless Kat ran towards her roommate from across the quad. "I got into drifting!" She squealed.

"Wow Congrats Kat! When are your Drifter try-outs?"

"Noon, OhmyGosh, I have to go! I've got to practice!" Kat whipped out her tablet and immediately started a fresh race on her OverDrift app.

"You practiced all night!" Zelda chuckled. "Why don't you take a break?"

"I'll take a break once I'm officially on the drifting team!" Kat insisted. "I'll see you later!" Zelda decided to head back to her dorm and set up her game systems.

Forty Five minutes later, Zelda was tangled in up in a collection of wires as she tried to figure out a way to connect her NES, N64, GameCube, Playstation 2 and Wii to the sole monitor at her workstation. Normally she'd use a Connection Bar that was produced by her father's company, but it appeared the technological heiress had forgotten the device at home. Ki happened to be walking to her room when she heard exclamations of frustration coming from the propped open door of six thirty eight. The RA knocked on the door of the room before popping her head in.

"Zelda, is everything okay?" Ki raised her eyebrows at the sight of her resident tied up with her own wires.

"Yeah, I-i think so." Zelda struggled to detangle herself. Getting up from the floor, Zelda brushed herself off. "I'm just trying to figure out a way to connect all these systems to my monitor. I left my Connection Bar at home."

"Oh, I can help you out with that!" Ki promised. "Wait here!" She returned with a black device that looked similar to a power strip. "The school provides Serpent Connection Bars for any students that needs them, because they're great for connecting unique or multiple systems." Zelda took the device from Ki and studied it. One end of the device was a HDMI cable that would easily connect to the monitor. The Strip of ports covered everything from NES to the newest X-box model. It was just like the one he had at home.

"Thanks Ki, this is just what I needed!" Zelda thanked her RA once she'd inspected the device.

"Glad I could be of help! Please Excuse me, I have to get my Rhythm game out to the team before their try-outs!" Ki collected her tablet from her room before beginning a search for the rhythm team. Z didn't have time to connected all of her systems before she headed to Retro team try-outs, but thanks to Ki she was at least able to get started. Fifteen minutes before noon, Zelda headed to classroom two fifteen where Mario and Sheriff were standing outside, greeting the underclassman.

"Hey, Zelda!" Both guys greeted the brunette upon seeing her.

"Hi guys!" She greeted pleasantly.

"Step right this way, Princess Zelda!" Sheriff instructed her. Even though Sheriff was trying to be nice, the memory of Calhoun's sarcastic '_Princess_' made the hairs on the back of Z's neck stand up. She ignored the bad feelings and stepped inside the room.

The inside of the retro gaming classroom were decorated with murals of game levels. The wall opposite the door, showed a level from the original Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong stood atop a collected of platforms and ladders with a barrel in his hand. A Mario figure was immortalized on the mural in mid-jump. The other walls proudly sported murals of an original Legend of Zelda Map, A PacMan Game, and a stack of Tertis blocks. A row of low-def TVs stretched across one wall, various systems connected to each one. Several bookcases housed the Retro collection of hundreds upon hundreds of games. In fact, the bookcases were so filled to capacity, the retro gamers had taken to stacking their games in piles all over the floor. Also scattered around the floor were beanbags and rocker gaming chairs. A large Flat Screen hung on another wall, a Serpent Connection Bar visibly dangling from it. The wall adjacent to the door was lined with arcade consoles. Among these consoles were , Galaga, Dig Dug, Sonic Boom, and Fix-it Felix Jr. All the Retros Zelda had met earlier were already in the room. She turned to the girl beside her, It was Mrs. Pacman.

"Fix-it Felix Jr isn't retro, is it?" Zelda asked Mrs. Pacman.

"Of course not!" Mrs. Packman agreed. "But it was made for people like us, people who love the retro style of gaming. Have you ever played?"

"No." Zelda shook her head, but she had to admit she was excited.

"Well, go ahead give it a try!" Mrs. Packman instructed. "The controls are hela easy." Zelda stepped in front of the machine and pushed the start button. Gripping the joystick in her left hand, while her right hand hovered over the hammer button, Z waited for the game to start. Mrs. Packman was right the games controls were easy. The premise of the game was that Wreck-it Ralph destroyed the windows of the Niceland building, and it was the player's job, as Fix-it Felix Jr, to use Felix's magic hammer to repair the windows while simultaneously avoiding the bricks that Ralph was casting down. The game itself looked a lot like the original Donkey Kong Game. Despite being a newer game, it did honor the designs of retro gaming.

"Wow, you're pretty good at that!" Mrs. Pacman encourage from behind Zelda. Z could hear footsteps behind her as a couple other gamers came by to watch her play. She easily conquered the first stage of the game, then the second, and the third. The further Zelda advanced in the game, it seemed more spectators were joining the crowd behind her. A half an hour passed and Mario should have started his official try-outs by then. But when the Retro gaming captain entered the room and saw how far the Freshman had gotten in Wreck-it Ralph, he decided to see if she could actually beat the game. None of the Retro gamers had been able to complete the game since its installation in the Retro Room.

"How many levels are there to this anyway?" Zelda asked once she realized she'd been playing for quite some time.

"Thirty nine." Mario told her. "You're already at level thirty!"

"Only nine more to go then!" Zelda tapped the hammer button with determination. Ten minutes later Zelda successfully worked her way to the top of the last Niceland building. Just as always happened at the end of a level the words:** You fixed it!** Flashed across the screen and the citizens of Niceland carried Ralph over their shoulders. The clouds parted and a giant metal hovered in the sky before resting on Felix's neck. Ralph was pitched off the side of the building, and landed on the ground. Z and her fellow gamers watch with aww as **Game Over!** **291,400 points! **scrolled across the screen. The next screen of the game asked for her name, and Zelda proudly typed in her gamer tag. **PRINCESSZ**. She saved her name as the highest score on the console and turned back to face the room full of Retro gamers


	6. Chapter 6

Zelda saved her name as the highest score on the console and turned back to face the room full of retro gamers. A loud encouraging cheer erupted from the room. Zelda shyly swept locks of hair behind her ear. Mario stepped forward from the crowd and clapped her on the back.

"Epic game Zelda!" The captain congratulated. "You're the first one of us to beat the game!"

"Really? Wow! I swear it's the first time I've ever played!"

"You're good! _Really Good!_" Mario encouraged the newcomer. He then turned to address the room of nine other gamers. "Welcome to Retro Gaming Team Try-Outs! Retro Gaming may not be the most popular class at VGHS, but we like to think of ourselves as the heart of gaming! Where would FPS be without _Duck Hunt_? Where would fighting be without Sega's _Heavyweight Champ_? Where would puzzle gamers be without _Tetris_? Gaming history was made within these very consoles!" Mario gestured to the row of arcade consoles behind him. Our systems may not be the newest or the flashiest, but they have the most sole!" Cheers of agreement burst from nearly every gamer in the room. "To play on the Retro competition team, you must play with your heart in the controls! Just because you were on the team last year, it does not guarantee you a spot this year. I'm looking for the best of the best! So who's ready to play some games?" Once again the crowd cheered.

"Alright, I want to see everyone's range of skills so I'm going to point you out to a system and basically just play the game and have fun until I call for a switch. When I do call for a switch, I'll let you know where to go next." Mario's eyes scanned the piece of paper pinned to the clipboard in his hand before calling out orders. "Daisy, I need you to show me those _Star Fox _skills you were working on over the summer," Daisy nodded and went off to power up one of the TVs. "Luigi, power up one of the N64's and get Lackerman, Danes, and Cassidy into a some _Mario Party_ Mini Games with you." Luigi guided the three freshman towards one of the TVs and Mario continued down the list. "Ok, and Sheriff you needed work on your 2D Platformers so I want you to tackle _Sonic The Hedgehog_ on the Sega Mega Drive." Groaning Sheriff shuffled off to play the game Mario assigned to him. "Ok, Ryan, Classic Mario?"

"So that just leaves Zelda and Mrs. Packman. Alright, Mrs. Packman I know you're good at classic arcade but I think you need some fetch quest practice so let's start you off with _Banjo Kazooie._ And Zelda, I was going to start you off with some Donkey Kong, but I think after your triumph at Fix-It Felix...I'd say you can probably skip that. Would it be too cliché of me to ask you for some _Legend of Zelda_?"

"On it boss." Zelda accepted the _Legend of Zelda_ cartridge from Mario and settled herself down in front of the last low-def TV. Putting the cartridge into the NES, Zelda powered up the system and waited for the titled screen to appear. Twenty minutes later Zelda had nearly beaten the game when Mario called for a switch.

"Wow, really impressive stuff you guys!" Mario smiled at his recruits. "I want to get a good assessment of your skills and we don't have much time, probably about another ten, twenty minutes so let's see...Lackerman, Danes, Cassidy let's get you guys on the arcade consoles." Mario jabbed a thumb at the systems behind him. Sheriff, good work, but I still think you need some Platformer practice. Give Fix-it Felix a try. So Daisy, Zelda, Ryan, and Mrs. Packman you four ladies go for a round of _Mario Party._Lugi...Why don't you get in some Axe Legends? I know you hate rhythm, but we have to get ready for that scrimmage with those guys next week." Luigi picked up a guitar from a pile of game accessories and plugged it into one of the room's Playstation 2s.

The room was silent except for the rhythmic sounds of buttons being tapped by the gamers around the room. There was the occasional exclamation from the _Mario Party_ group as their avatar was either beaten or triumphant. Mario paced the room making notes of the gamers as he pasted. While the time ticked on, Mario carefully assembled his list of six players for the competition team.

"Can I have everyone's attention?" Mario called from the center of the room. The room's nine other occupants turned away from their games to look up or over at the Captain. "Can I have you guys gather around me for a minute. We've got to have the traditional Retro Naming Ceremony, and then I'll announce the players on the competition team." The retro gamers all willingly complied they gathered around Mario, all eyes on him. "Great! Neal Cassidy, Luke Danes, Zelda Kovac, Emma Lackerman, and Andy Ryan please step forward." The five Freshman did as they were told, forming a straight line between Mario and the four upperclassman. "It's traditional for the Retro Captain to bestow nicknames upon his or her fellow gamers. I've seen a bit of your gameplay in action and I talked a bit to some of you at sign-ups this morning. Let's keep things alphabetical, I'll start with Cassidy." Zelda peeked down the line at Neal, a dark haired boys with round brown eyes. "Neal, you shall from this day on be known to us as **Megaman!**" The Retro gamers clapped as Megaman willingly accepted his new nickname."Danes..." Luke was a Blonde haired blue-eyed boy, who couldn't have stood much taller than five feet. "Danes you shall from this day forth be known to us as **Sonic!" **

"Alright!" Sonic exclaimed as he and Megaman shared a high five.

"That, brings us to the Freshman Ladies." Mario continued with his Naming ceremony. "Zelda Kovac." Z turned as smiled at Mario. "Well, if it's not broke right?" A chuckle erupted from the other members. "You shall from this day forth be known to us as **Princess Zelda.**" Z wasn't expecting a nickname, the Retros had seemed pretty taken with her given name at sign us. "Emma Lackerman," The girl standing to Z's right was a tall redhead. She had a soft but vicious look about her. "Lackerman, you shall be known from this day forth to us as **Laura Croft**! This leaves our last Freshman, Andy Ryan. Ryan you shall be known from this day forth to us as **Bowser**!" Andy Ryan, who was a tall skinny guy laughed at the ironic nickname.

"Retros! Make some noise for Megaman, Sonic, Zelda, Laura Croft, and Bowser!" Mario banged his hands together, and a thunderous applause spread through the room. "Alright Welcome to the Clan kids! Go join your new family!" Mario shook the hands of each of the five freshman before they stepped back and joined the upperclassman. "Now it's time for the moment you've all been waiting for, The Competition Team Roster!" The Retros waited with baited breath as Mario gave his list a second glance. "As with all teams at VGHS, there will be six team members, five excluding myself, I also have the prerogative to select two alternate members to join us should one of our team members become benched for any reason. Okay, the roster is as follows: Luigi, Daisy, Mrs. Pacman, Zelda, Sonic and myself. Our alternates will be Sheriff and Laura Croft. Well, that officially concludes today's Retro Try-Outs! My big five, make sure I get your measurements before you go, and have a great night!"


	7. Chapter 7

Brian shuffled into his room after his FPS try-outs were completed. Apparently since VGHS had defeated Napalm Energy Drink High School in last year's all for nothing game, the number of FPS candidates had almost tripled. Brian wasn't actually expecting so many great players and he was now tasked with putting together a Varsity team by tomorrow morning. It was important for Brian to get the list together as soon as possible so that Games Dean could assemble his JV team. Tiered from the day's events, he tossed his tablet down on his workstation and sighed. Brian sat down and pulled up his word program. Ted entered the room with a broad grin on his face.

"Man I love being Drift King!" He proclaimed to the room. "How'd FPA try-outs go?"

"Good." Brian said. "Almost too good. I must have fifty candidates on this list." Brian gestured to his tablet. "I've got to make my picks by tomorrow so Games can get his team together."

"That's rough." Ted empathized with his best friend. "I only had one candidate Zelda's roommate Kat. She's very...enthusiastic." Ted sprawled himself out on his bed and picked up his tablet. He wanted to give Ki's new rhythm game a try before bed. Brian swiped his tablet open again and scrolled through the list of candidates.

_You can do this Brian._ He encouraged himself before beginning to make his 'top twenty' list of candidates. An hour later Brian was pulled from his work when his cell phone started vibrating around the surface of his workstation. looking down at the caller ID, Brian didn't recognize the number. He decided to answer anyway since it could be an FPS candidate. "Hello?"

"Brian?" A distraught voice slurred into the phone. "Brain it's Zelda, I'm sorry but I didn't know who else to call."

"Zelda hey, it's alright, calm down." Brian tried to comfort the girl on the other end of the phone. "What's going on Z?" Ted peaked down at this roommate when he heard him mention Zelda's name.

"Kat and I, we went to a party and...hang on I'm sorry, Kat...no, no, no!...Anyway Kat and I we...khroggh..." There was a coughing noise from Zelda's end of the phone before her voice returned. "Kat and I went to an office campus party and..."

"What's going on?" Ted asked Brian.

"Zelda and Kat went to a party," Brian whispered back. "I think they're drunk."

"Tell them we'll pick them up." Ted remarked, jumping from his bed. "I'll drive."

"Hey Z? Z listen, where are you? Ted and I are going to pick you up."

"I-I don't know." Zelda slurred. Another coughing sound erupted through the phone speaker."We were at a party at the RPG house, but then we started walking..."

"Okay, Just stay where you are, we'll find you. We're coming Z." Brian promised.

"Okay, I've got to go...I'm trying to keep Kat from falling asleep." Zelda hung up the phone. Ted and Brian sprung into action.

"Where did they say they were?" Ted asked as he drove his car out of the school parking lot.

"She said she didn't know exactly." Brian explained as they traveled down the road. "She just knew that they went to a party at the RPG house and they started walking home."

"It's like six blocks from here!" Ted's eyes widened. "If they're walking they could be almost anywhere."

"Well just drive towards the party and we'll search from there, Dude." Brian suggested logically. "I mean they're fifteen year old girls, how far could they get on foot without someone noticing?"

Apparently not very far. Brian and Ted found Zelda and Kat seated on the sidewalk a block away from the RPG house. Kat was leaning her head on Zelda's shoulder and Z was clutching at her own head. The color was drained from both girls faces even before Ted and Brian parked their car.

"Zelda it's us!" Brian hollered as he jumped out of the car. Relief washed over Zelda's tear stained face as spotted Brian coming to her rescue.

"C'mon Kat, you have to get up." Zelda tugged her friend up on her feet. Ted slung one of Kats arms over his shoulders and guided her into the backseat of her car.

"Do you think you can walk?" Brian asked Zelda.

"I, uh..JustOneSecond." Zelda turned around and vomited into the bushes behind her and Brian. "I'mSoSorry." Zelda began to cry. Her words were running together and Brian tried his best to ease her to her feet.

"It's okay," Brian said rubbing circles on her back as they walked over to Ted's car. Zelda slid into the backseat next to Kat, and Brian sat next to her.

"I'm sorry Ted, I'm sorry Brian." Zelda wept.

"It's okay Zelda, let's just get you two back to school." Ted said as he pulled away from the curb.

"School!" Zelda repeated with a sudden panic. "We're going to be so dead when we get back to school! _If_ we can get back in without any of the other students noticing...Ki's going to be so mad! What if she reports us to Dean Calhoun?"

"Ki wont report you." Ted assured her. "Brian and I are going to get you guys back to school safely, and without getting in trouble."

Ted parked his car in the same spot it had been in before he and Brian left to get the girls. Kat was asleep with her head resting on Zelda's shoulder. Zelda was awake with one hand hovering over her mouth to hold back the nausea and her other hand was gripping one Brian's tightly. Ted picked up his Jr Drifter out of the car.

"I'll get Kat to their room and I'll get the master key from Ki." Ted said before he carried Kat into the dorm building.

"Do you think you can walk?" Brian asked Zelda as the two got out of the car. Zelda was about to say she could walk when she felt her stomach churning." How about we get you to a bathroom, think you can make it till then?" Zelda nodded, unable to speak. Ted's parking spot was closer to the main building then it was to the parking lot, so Brian guided his friend towards a the closest bathroom on the first floor. Zelda barely made it before vomiting into the first toilet she reached. Brian paced awkwardly in the bathroom not sure what to do. He'd only been drunk once, last year at Prom. He didn't know the first thing about taking care of someone who'd drank too much_. In movies guys always hold the girl's hair, right?_ He thought to himself.

"Hey Z, can I help you? Here, let me hold your hair." Brian crouched down and swept Zelda's hair up on his right hand. With his other hand, Brian rubbed circles around her back. All the while Zelda kept saying how sorry she was.


	8. Chapter 8

Zelda woke up with something cold pressed against her face and a crick in her neck. Her eyes fluttered open and she was staring down at a toilet. Zelda struggled to sit up but there was something heavy on her back. She turned to see Brian sleeping next to her, his right arm wrapped around her shoulder. A montage of images from the night before played back in Zelda's mind. Kat convincing her to go to a party at the RPG House, Z agreeing since no girl should got to a party alone, An RPG guy offering Kat and Zelda some "Mead", Z taking the drink reluctantly, then another and another, Dragging a sick Kat out of the party house, calling Brian in a panic, and vomiting. Lots and Lots of vomiting. Zelda's head was pounding as she gently shook Brian awake.

"Brian, Brian." She whispered. Brain felt a soft hand gently nudging him.

"Five more minutes Ted." He groaned. But as Brian complained, he too remembered what had happened the night before. "Hey," Brian said softly. "How are you feeling there champ?"

"Terrible." Zelda moaned.

"Well sleeping on the bathroom floor surely didn't help at all." Brain laughed as he got to his feet.

"Don't laugh! It makes my headache worse!"

"Should have thought about that beforehand." Brian joked. He offered Zelda a hand and he helped her to her feet.

"I can't believe I slept on the bathroom floor, that's disgusting." Zelda complained as she and Brian walked out of the bathroom, their hands still linked.

"Hey, I work hard to keep those bathrooms clean!" Brian feigned offense.

"I'm so sorry!" Zelda apologized immediately. "You came to my rescue last night, took care of me and here and I am insulting your profession."

"I'm going to let your sarcastic tone go since you're sick." Brian and Zelda walked out of the main building and outside towards the dorm buildings.

"What the hell time is it?" Zelda said looking up at the stars, still present in the night sky. Brian used his free hand to pull his phone out of the back pocket.

"Four AM." Brian told her.

"I hate myself, so much." Zelda groaned as she and Brian entered the dorm building.

"Once we're up on Frag Floor, you can get some water, that'll help you feel better. All the RA's have Tylenol and Aprin so Ki can get you some of that too. Her and Ted were suppose to be waiting up for us in your room, but they probably fell asleep just like us."

Brian and Zelda slowly made their way up to Frag Floor. Zelda used the key attached to her lanyard to unlock the door to her room. As Brian suspected, Ki and Ted were sleeping together on the couch, Kat was passed out in a pile of blankets on the floor. Brian's two best friends were awoken by the soft rustling sounds of he and Zelda entering the room. Ki's "mother hen" persona turned on in full force when she spotted her resident.

"Tylenol or Asprin?" Ki whispered holding up prepackaged dosages of each item to Zelda.

"Tylenol would be great." She said, reaching for the appropriate packet. Ted offered her a cold water bottle which Zelda gratefully accepted. "I cannot tell you how sorry I am!" Zelda apologized to Ted and Ki after she downed the medication.

"I'm an RA." Ki smiled sweetly. "It's my job to take care of my residents."

"And I already told you, any friend of Brian's is a friend of mine." Ted echoed his own words from a few days ago. "And Kat's one of my Drifters now so..."

"But still, it was so nice of you to uproot your entire evening just to take care of Kat and I."

"Oh my gosh!" Brian half-shouted, causing Zelda to recoil. "Sorry." He dropped his voice to a softer tone. "My team, I have to pick my team...Games is going to want the list in like...four hours!"

"You should go then!" Zelda insisted softly.

"Are you sure?" Brian didn't really want to leave Z alone if she was still feeling sick.

"Yeah, I 'm going to finish this water bottle and go to sleep anyway. You go work on your team roster. And Ted, Ki, you guys should get to bed to. I feel bad enough you had to crash on my couch half the night." Zelda frowned.

"Only if you promise that if you need something, you'll come get me?" Ki asked.

"Yes. I promise."

"Okay, remember I'm just down the hall." Ki reminded her before backing out of the room.

"Get some rest Zelda." Ted placed a second water bottle in the minifridge for Kat or Zelda to drink later, before walking out of the room.

"I'll text you later to check up on you okay?" Brian said as Zelda chugged the last of her water bottle.

"That'd be great." Zelda smiled. "Oh and Brian, thank you."

"Any time Z." Brian smiled before shutting the door and joining Ted in the hall.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thank you to Nutmegan for this story's first review! It really helps to know that even one person waits excitedly for this Fic! 3 I truly love Reviews, Favorites and Follows! So thank you to anyone out there who's taken the time to do such! P.S. Sorry for such a short chapter, but I'm trying to wrap up the party storyline!**

``Four hours later Kat and Zelda were showered and changed into clean clothes. Kat was dressed in a snuggly pair of VGHS sweatpants and her leather Drifter's jacket over a VGHS T-shirt. Zelda decided on a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans, and a NES controller T-shirt.

"Why are we up so early?" Kat complained as the roommates made their way to breakfast.

"Because we have History of Gaming at nine and we both need food in our stomachs." Zelda explained. "By the way, remind me to never let you drag me to a party again."

"Remind me to never _go_ to a party again." Kat mumbled as she rested her head on the cafeteria table.

The girls ate their breakfast quietly before heading to their History of Gaming class. Zelda dragged Kat to the front of the classroom as it quickly filled with other students. A tall round man with a manacle over his left eye greeted the class.

"Morning Noobs, Welcome to History of Gaming one oh one." The teacher began in a nasally voice. "My name is Mr. Conroy. You will not call me anything other than Mr. Conroy. I am not your 'dude' I am not your friend, but I am your teacher. There will be no cell phones during my class. There will be no video games of any kind." A collective groan escaped from the students and several hands shot up. "Hands down, I know what you're going to say. 'but this is _Video Game High School_.' Well tough cookies. This class is about studying games not playing them." The students whose hands were raised, slowly lowered in defeat. "I also don't want to see any other electronic gadgets, this includes school issued tablets." Zelda and Kat exchanged a disappointed look as they put their tablets in their backpacks. "Any notes you take will be hand written on a notebook. A paper notebook, not a computer. Now, this is the class syllabus." Mr. Conroy held up a stack of papers and slapped them on the table between Z and Kat. "Take one copy and pass it around the room. Zelda and Kat each took a stapled packed off the top of the pile and handed it to the two students behind them. "Any questions?"

"So..." Kat let the word trail off as the duo left the classroom forty five minutes later.

"Yeah that was...something." Zelda agreed. "Hang on, I'm getting a text." Zelda checked the sender banner that popped up on her phone's notification screen. **Brian D**. "Oh no!"

"What's wrong? Who's it from?" Kat asked.

"Brian." Zelda admitted. "I feel so bad about last night...He must think I'm a total loser."

"I'm sure he doesn't think that. Look I've got drift practice." Kat said sympathetically. "I have to run, and should probably apologize to DK. But let's meet for lunch, then you can tell me what happens with Brian!" Kat ran towards the Drifter clubhouse, leaving Zelda in the hallway. Zelda swiped at her text notification, opening her message from Brian.

_Morning Z How are feeling?_ Zelda felt a smiled spread across her face as she read the text message. Brian had said last night that he'd text her in to morning, but she hadn't actually expected it.

_Morning Brian. Feeling much better thanx to U, Ted & Ki._Zelda tapped a quick reply. Within seconds a new text from Brian popped up.

_It was nothing. What are your plans today?_Zelda read the text twice to make sure she'd read it correctly. _Maybe he wants to hang out. _Z thought excitedly.

_I have an exploratory Rhythm class at ten, but then I'm free._ Zelda responded quickly.

_Cool. I have FPS Practice at two, but maybe we could hang out after?_ Zelda couldn't type "yes" fast enough. _OK I'll text you after practice._

_Looking forward to it!_ Zelda sent her last text and pocketed her phone before searching for her Rhythm class.

After class, Z met up with Kat, Ki, Ted and the other Drifters for an early lunch. With a tray of tacos in hand, Zelda spotted her friends sharing two large Pizzas.

"Z! You're looking much better." Ted greeted Zelda as she sat down.

"Thanks." Zelda mumbled awkwardly.

"So how was History of Gaming?" Ki asked.

"Awful." Kat and Zelda answered simultaneously. Ki and Ted exchanged a look. They'd both thought for sure that with Zelda's interest in Retro Gaming she would have loved History of Gaming.

"Who do you have?" Clutch asked.

"Mr. Conroy." Zelda replied.

"Ohh." Ki said with understand. "He's a bit...dry."

"And crazy." Ted added in. "So, what's everyone doing tonight?"

"I can tell you what I'm _not_ doing," Kat spoke up. "Partying. Ever again." Everyone at the table laughed.

"Honestly that was probably one of the worst experiences of my life." Zelda complained.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I want to say thank you to Faeldora, BattleBoltz and the three Guests who've most recently reviewed this story! I honestly love reviews good or bad! They help me tell what's good and what needs work in my fics! So thanks for taking the time to leave me some reviews! And to BattleBoltz, yeah I agree that Retro Gaming covers a pretty broad spectrum of games. I see the Restros themselves as huge hipsters and as far as the class itself, it's sort of a catch all for gamers. Like colleges that just offer a general music degree instead of a specific concentration. (If that makes sense?) Anyway thanks again to everyone out there! Please continue reading, reviewing, and favoriting!**

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><p>After lunch Zelda headed back to her room to practice some rhythm games. Partially because when she'd played <em>Axe Legends <em>during class that day her skills were severely lacking and partly because Mario had mentioned a Retro/Rhythm scrimmage during try-outs. Plugging her guitar into the Playstation 2, Zelda powered up her home edition of _Axe Legends_. She strummed along unsuccessfully to the tune of three or four songs before Kat returned to their room.

"What are you playing?" Kat asked, throwing herself on the couch.

"_Axe Legends._" Zelda replied not looking away from the screen.

"It looks hard." Kat frowned as she watched her roommate miss one note then another.

"That's because I'm bad at it." Zelda admitted.

"Can I try?" Kat questioned.

"Be my guest." Zelda peeled the guitar strap off her shoulder as the song she was playing came to an end. "It's easier if it's a song you know." Z advised, offering the plastic instrument to her roommate. Kat jumped up from the couch and accepted the guitar. "Okay, so when the song starts, just push the color that matches the note, but at the same time, you have to strum with this." Zelda explained the controls of the game and Kat picked her song.

"Oh, this is hard." Kat frowned as she too missed note after note. Kat finished her song with a dismal score. "It's still kind of fun."

"Yeah..." Zelda replied distractedly before looking down at her new text message.

_Finally out of practice. Do you still want to hang out?_

"Are you texting Brian?" Kat asked scandalously.

"How'd you know?" Zelda looked up from her phone.

"You're grinning like a goon!" Kat laughed. Zelda felt her cheeks fill with color as she typed a reply to Brian.

_Awesome. Want to meet me at my room?_

_Be down in a sec!_ Z promised before turning her attention back to Kat. "Brian wants me to hang out with him." She explained.

"Brian and Zelda sitting in the tree, k-i-s-..."

"Oh stop." Zelda insisted with a smile. "If we're hanging out in his room I'm sure Ted will be there."

"He and Ki walked up here with me. They're playing _Pokermon_ in her room." Kat shared.

"I'm sure that's just a coincidence or something. I'm leaving before you get any more bad ideas." Zelda left the room and walked down to the Arcade Floor. She easily found Brian and Ted's room, utilizing the name plates on the wall. Zelda knocked on the door and fidgeted with her clothes as she waited for Brian to answer.

"Hey!" Brian answered her with a wide smile. "Come on in!" Brian held the door open and closed it behind Z once she stepped in. The first thing Zelda spotted when she entered the room was a fluffy calico cat sprawled across Brian and Ted's couch.

"Brian...there's a cat in your room." She gasped.

"Oh that's Cheeto." Brian smirked. "He's the school mascot!" He went on to explain to Z about how Ki helped Cheeto become the school mascot. "I guess I could put him out in the hall if you're allergic or something..."

"No way!" Zelda shook her head. "I mean, I don't think I'm allergic...but I love cats! I've always wanted one, my dad hates them."

"Well Cheeto is very friendly." Brian assured her. He scooped his cat up and cradled him in his arms. Zelda approached the cat with caution, petting him gently. Cheeto rubbed his head against Zelda's hand, encouraging her to continue petting him. "He likes you." Brian said as the cat began to purr.

"Well I like you too Cheeto!" Z promised the cat as she scratched his head.

"So I was thinking maybe we could hang out, watch a movie?" Brian suggested while Zelda snuggled a still purring Cheeto in her arms.

"That sounds great." Zelda agreed. "What are we going to watch?"

"Well Ted and a share a WebFilmz account, we can stream pretty much any movie from it, so I thought I'd let you pick." Brian turned on the monitor at his workstation and signed into his WebFilmz account. The pressure was all on Zelda now. If she picked a romantic comedy, Brian would think that Z thought it was a date; which was fine if it was a date, disastrous if it wasn't. If she picked a comedy and Brian didn't like it, he might this she was childish.

"How about Leprachaun?" Zelda suggested. In her mind a B level horror was a perfect. If the night went on and it was just a casual hangout they could make fun of the movie together and share a laugh. If it turned out to be something more Z could always pretend to be scared during the cheesy jump scares.

"The horror movie?" Brian asked, already typing the film tilt into the WebFilmz search bar.

"Yeah, I mean I know it's not a great movie but if you can get into it..."

"Nah it sounds great! I thought you'd pick a chick flick." Brian pressed play and sat next to Z and Cheeto on the couch. "Oh wait, I almost forgot, popcorn!" Brian jumped up once again. He rummaged through his cupboards and pulled out a box of popcorn. Five minutes later, with a fresh bowl of popcorn and Cheeto stretched between them, Zelda and Brian settled in to watch their movie.

At some point during the movie Zelda's head came to rest on Brian's shoulder and his arm draped over hers. Z had made the right choice, she and Brian both laughed at the movie's awkward moments and jumped at the suspenseful ones. It wasn't apparently to either gamer whether or not it had been an official date and neither of them really cared. They had fun hanging out and just being together.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/n: As always huge thank yous to everyone who took time to read, favorite, follow and review this story! **

**DannyKilmore: I try to keep my chapters around 1,000 words. It's just what I've found is easiest while writing my other fics. Occasionally I'll go a few hundred less or more. Thanks you the suggestion though! **

**Spkieeb2: I don't usually like pairings/ships that aren't cannon, but this idea just kind of came to me after finishing Season 3. I didn't want to paint Jenny as a bad guy because she's not a vindictive or manipulative person at all. I want Brian and Zelda to developed slowly and I haven't decided if Jenny will show up once they're established or not. **

**NutMegan56: I agree that Brian's a bit OOC, and I've noticed (at least for me) he is the hardest VGHS character to write for! Hopefully this next Chapter, which is more Brian centric, will help his character develop! There's a very small TedxKi moment here, but I plan on writing them some more fluff later on! **

**Lanton Lineage: I haven't decided exactly when/how/if I want to incorporate Jenny yet, but I'd like to see her and Z interact together at some point! **

**Bogo: Urban Dictionary suggest you may be trolling me, but an 8/8 is always nice! **

**Thanks again to everyone for favoriting, following and reviewing! Here's Chapter 11, I can't wait to hear what y'all think!**

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><p>The next Day, Brian sat at his work station with his Skype profile opened up. He didn't really understand why he'd signed on in the first place. He didn't use the app to talk to anyone he wasn't already at VGHS with. No one except for <em>her.<em> For the past month Brian hadn't even dared think her name, but there it was grayed out in the list of his offline Skype friends: _Jenny_Matrix_. It wasn't like Brian was expecting her to be online in the middle of the day. Jenny was playing with the pros now, she didn't have time for mid-day chats. She made that perfectly clear when school had ended last June. _Three months._ It had been three months since he and Jenny had their mutual split.

He couldn't really blame Jenny. Playing on a pro team was the dream of every VGHS student. It's what the school was created for. If he'd been given the same opportunity, Brian liked to think he'd make the same choices as his now ex-girlfriend. That didn't mean the spilt hadn't left a stinging feeling , a feeling, which had only grown as the two fell out of communication a month ago. He could always text her, but if she was in the middle of something important she'd be unable to answer anyway. A sinking idea crossed Brian's mind that perhaps Jenny simply wanted nothing to do with him anymore. He dismissed the idea as quickly as it had come. Jenny was many things smart, pretty, determined, and fiery but she wasn't cruel. The honest explanation was that Jenny was still busy training with her fellow Panthers and the two friends would be able to talk again soon.

Ted and Ki Stumbled into the room, both doubled over with laughter.

"Hey Guys!" Brian greeted them as he scrambled to close his Skype account. Ki, who was far more observant than either boy gave her credit for, had spotted the name Brian's mouse was hovering over before he exited the app.

"Thinking about Jenny again?" She asked Brian sympathetically.

"Just checking to see if she was online." Brian tried to sound nonchalant. "I mean she's probably busy but we're still friends so..." Ted an Ki exchanged a look. Brian really hated when they did that. Like just because they were a couple they knew more than him about dating. Brian took a deep breath. It was fair to his two best friends that he was still upset about his break up. Brian didn't even really understand what was happening. He'd been fine for the past few months. Sure he was hurt, but he'd never been angry about it. How could he be angry at Jenny for something that was his idea in the first place?

"So...how was hanging out with Zelda last night?" Ted asked. Brian didn't really hear Ted's question, he was trapped far too deep in his own head. Normally the FPS captain liked having his best friends with him when he was stressing about something, but in that moment the four walls of the dorm seemed to be closing in on him.

"I-uh I have to go guys, see you later, bye!" Brian mumbled as he raced out of the room.

"Did I say something?" Ted asked Ki when the two were left alone in the room.

"I don't know." Ki said, her eyes locked on the doorway Brian had just disappeared through.

Brian wasn't heading in any particular direction when he wondered out of the dorm building. He just stared down at his feet, watching strips of pavement pass with each forward step. The FPS captain didn't pay the slightest attention to his surroundings which is what caused him to bump into someone in the quad. Both parties were knocked to the ground as they collided, each apologizing rapidly as they struggled to their feet.

"I'm sorry, I-I wasn't paying attention." Brian mumbled.

"Oh no, it's my fault I was distracted by my game...Brian?" Brian looked over to see the girl he'd knocked into was Zelda.

"Here let me help you...there you go." Brian helped Z to her feet and handed her the backpack she had dropped.

"Brian, are you okay?" Zelda could see the frantic look behind his eyes.

"Yeah, I was just taking a walk to clear my head...I guess I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking. But I'm fine. Just...fine."

"Well if you're sure..." She wasn't at all convinced that Brian was fine, but he obviously didn't want to talk about whatever was bothering him either. "Look, I've gotta go meet Kat but if something _is_ bothering you and you want to talk to me you can." Zelda started walking towards the dorm building, her hand had just reached out for the door handle when someone called out her name.

"Zelda!" It was Brian again.

"Yeah?" She took her hand off the door as a group of student's passed between her and Brian.

"Can we talk?" He asked.

"Yeah." Zelda let Brian lead her into Grand Theft Auditorium. After using Brian's ring of Janitor keys to gain access to the building he and Z sat at two of the swivel chairs on the auditorium's stage.

"I like to come here sometimes when I need to clear my head." Brian explained.

"It's pretty impressive." Zelda marveled. it was the first time the freshman girl had seen the room. She tried to imagine what it was like to play a game with hundreds of eyes watching intently from a live audience. "What did you want to talk about, Brian?"

"Well, um...I...I don't know where to start." Brian sighed. Running a hand through his hair, Brian tried to put his thoughts into words. "I have...had an girlfriend." He began.

"I heard about that, the girl who was Captain before you, Jenny Matrix. But she moved to Paris to play with the Panthers." Zelda remembered.

"Yup." Brian recollected sadly. "We broke up at the end of last year and...I don't know..."

"You're still not over her." Z said with understanding.

"I guess not." Hearing someone else say it made all the foggy thoughts in Brian's head make sense. "I don't want you to think that I've been leading you on or anything..."

"It's totally fine." She rushed to assure him. "Friends?"

"That's not fair to you..." Brian frowned.

"Why isn't it?" Zelda questioned. "I'd rather be friends than us never talk to each other again. I mean I enjoy hanging out with you, and you obviously like spending time with me. We don't have to date to hang out. Don't you and Ki ever hang out together without Ted?"

"Yeah all the time." Brian smiled. "Alight friends then."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/n: Thanks to nutmegan56 for your review of Chapter 11! I plan on doing a chapter or two about Parents Day soon, which I'll hopefully be able to touch on Ted's feelings about Freddie. I sort of see it as Ted's moved on. Like he is sad that Freddie's gone, but at the same time he realized that Brian was right, it was stupid that his dad didn't love him. I imagine Ki's parents have sort of adopted Ted and after spending time with Mr. & Mrs. Swan he realized what a horrible parent Freddie really was. Thanks again for reviewing, Favorting, Following and reading! Without further ado, Chapter 12!**

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><p>After her one on one talk with Brian, Zelda flung open the door to her room and kicked to first thing she came in contact with. It was Kat's trash can.<p>

"Hey, watch it!" Kat snarled, jumping to her feet.

"Sorry, I-I just..." Z bent down and started cleaning up the mess she just made.

"What's your problem?" Kat demanded, her arms folded across her chest.

"I was on my way up here to meet you when bumped into Brian. He wanted...needed to talk and-and..."

"What did he want to talk about?" Kat's tone softened as she started to feel sympathetic towards her distraught roommate.

"He said he still had feelings for his ex-girlfriend." Zelda confessed.

"Oh Z, I'm sorry dude." Now Kat really felt bad. "Hug?" She offered. Z didn't say anything as she walked towards her friend and rested her head on Kat's shoulder s.

"I told him we could still be friends." Zelda laughed as tears filled her eyes.

"It'll be okay Z." Kat promised, wrapping her arms around her. There was a knock on the still open door. Ki and Ted entered to find Zelda crying on Kat's shoulder.

"What's going on?" Ki asked. " I heard someone crying so..."

"Brian told Z that he just wanted to be friends with her." Kat explained.

"What a big, mean, stupid, dumb, jerk!" Ted exclaimed.

"Ted, I don't think Brian meant to hurt Zelda's feelings." Ki said.

"Of course not!" Kat agreed.

"Guys, really it's fine." Z sniffled. She dried her eyes with her sleeve, feeling silly that she'd made a big deal about something trivial.

"Hey, you know what always makes me feel better when I'm having a bad day?" Ted smiled.

"Pizza?" The three girls said in unison.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Ted asked, still smiling.

"You _always_ want Pizza." Ki laughed.

"I know this great arcade off campus that has the best pizza!" Ted suggested. "C'mon, I'll drive." Looking forward to something that would take her mind off Brian, Zelda followed Ted and Ki out of the room. "Hey aren't ya coming Kit Kat?"

"Um, yeah!" Kat grabbed her drifter jacket and followed to others to Ted's car.

"Uh, Ted, where are we going?" Ki asked. She recognized the streets her boyfriend was traveling on, and hoped he wasn't taking Zelda to _that _arcade.

"Oh you know, the old Endless Food &Fun!" Ted replied as the car pulled into a parking lot. That's exactly what Ki was afraid of. From their seats in the back of Ted's car Kat and Z saw the red painted cement arcade building. The arcades new name shimmering in five bright LED Letters: _Brian's._ "Here we are!" Ted said parking the car.

"You okay?" Kat whispered to Z when they stepped out of the car.

"Of course she's okay, she's about to eat the best pizza in town, c'mon Z!" Ted threw his arm over Zelda's shoulder and guided her into the arcade. Thankfully the inside of the arcade didn't resemble even the slightest hint of Brian's previous involvement there. The four VGHS Students made their way to the snack counter where Ted ordered a round of Pizza and sodas for everyone.

"I have to admit Ted, this is great Pizza." Z agreed as she polished off her third slice of pizza.

"Let's go play some games!" Kat insisted. She grabbed Zelda by the wrist and dragged her to the token machine.

"This was a really good idea Ted." Ki complimented him as the two of them started clearing away the trash on their table.

"Thanks Ki." he said, stacking up the paper plates. "I just didn't like seeing Z sad like that, and Brian's stupid. Jenny left him to play a video game."

"She left him to follow her dreams." Ki corrected.

"Still, I'd never leave you. Not for anything." He promised. Ki and Ted threw their trash away.

"Aww that's sweet." She smiled at him. "And while I'd never trade you for anything either, we can't be mad at Jenny. We can't be mad at Brian either. He's just sad."

"Yeah, you're right." Ted sighed. This was why he and Ki were great together. She noticed all the things that he didn't. "Do you think Brian's okay?"

"I think he will be with time." Ki assured him. "And we shouldn't pressure him into talking about Jenny if he doesn't want to. " Ted was about to agree when Kat and Zelda rushed over, each carrying two buckets of tokens.

"That's a lot of tokens!" Ted said staring at buckets of shinning gold coins.

"I bought one for each of us!" Zelda explained. She forced a plastic bucket into Ted and Ki's hands. "How about a race?" She wagged her eyebrows at the drift king.

"Oh you're going down!" Ted promised.

"Bring it on DK!" Zelda laughed, running towards the nearest _Overdrift_ arcade system. The kids played through a total seven token buckets before Ted drove them back to school that night. In the end Ted and Ki's plan to make Z forget, if only temporarily, about Brian had worked. Of course the second they entered the dorm building and Zelda spotted a VGHS poster with Brian's grinning face on it, she did remember what had happened that afternoon. But remembering didn't hurt quite as much. She realized that Brian wasn't trying to hurt her earlier, he was just confused. He was trying to figure his own life out and it was better he'd talk to her now than before they had started an actual relationship. They could still be friends, which would be great because Ted, Ki, Kat and Brian weren't just the first friends Zelda had made at VGHS. They were the first friends Zelda had in her life.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/n: Thank you to asanion for your review of Chapter 12! Don't worry, Brian and Z will happen...eventually! To everyone out there, Thanks so much for reading, reviewing, Favoriting and following! Please enjoy chapter 13!**

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><p>"Remember, winner's don't do drugs, but you're a loser, so why don't you stop playing and go take some drugs, LOSER!" The Freddie Wong avatar of <em>Axe Legends<em> taunted Z before the "You are a failure!" screen appeared.

"I hate this game!" Zelda hissed as she tossed her plastic guitar on the floor.

"Easy on the equipment Zelda!" Mario scolded from two TV's down. The retros were practicing their _Axe Legends_ skills before the friendly competition with the rhythm gamers. A competition that would be part of the Parent's Day Gaming Showcase. Z especially had been cramming in extra hours of practice because the last thing she wanted was for her parents to see her lose the first competitive game she played.

"Sorry Mario." Zelda apologized. The retro captain had strict rules about abusing the gear in the game room. No wrapping cords around the controllers because it pinched the wires. No tugging on controllers because it pulled the wires out. No slamming external equipment, like guitars, because that's how things get broken. "I just...I'm trying so hard!"

"What level are you playing at?" Sheriff asked from behind her.

"Expert." Z sighed. Of the game's eleven difficulty levels "Expert" was seventh. It was more than likely the rhythm kids would be playing at "Megaultraextreme" the most difficult level.

"You're not that much worse off than the rest of us." Luigi encouraged her. "Daisy and I are only playing at 'impossible', it's one level up from 'expert'."

"And besides weren't you playing on 'Toddler' when the year started?" Sheriff asked.

"Yeah, how are you so good at this?" Z asked Sheriff who always played the game at it's top level.

"Lots of practice." Sheriff shrugged.

"Practice it is then." Zelda picked up her guitar again and selected a new song. "Miss...Uh miss...Son of a Goblin missed again..."

"Maybe you're playing too hard Zelda." Mario suggested as he and Sonic finished the song they were playing. "Why don't you take a break? Actually let's all take a break, I'm starved."

"Me too!" Mrs. Pacman, who'd been playing with Laura Croft on the flat screen, agreed.

"Hey, let's all get some dinner then!" Luigi suggested. He, Daisy, Laura Croft, Megaman, Bowser, Sonic and Mrs. Packman filed out of the room.

"Aren't you two coming?" Mario asked Zelda and Sheriff who were the rooms only other occupants.

"Nah, I'm going to stay here and practice. I really wanna do well." Z turned back to the TV and started a new song.

"Sheriff?" Mario questioned with raised eyebrows.

"I'll stay with Zelda, maybe she'll play better if she's not playing alone." Sheriff plugged his guitar into the system Z was using and joined her song.

"Suit yourselves." Mario shrugged. He'd really wanted Zelda to take a break, but if she was determined to play until she wore her fingers to bloody stubs, who was he to criticize?

"This game is miserable!" Z groaned as the Freddie Wong Avatar taunted her again.

"Okay, try this." Sheriff said picking the next song. "And don't look at the notes right before they hit your bar down here...Look at the row above, there." Zelda tried to follow his instructions and she found it was much easier to get through the song if she did as he said.

"I'm doing it!" She remarked with surprise. Zelda was able to finish the song with 87%. "Oh my gosh! I did it! I finished the song! Thank you so much!" Z flung her arms around Sheriff's neck in gratitude.

"It was nothing." Sheriff remarked, hugging her back. "You want to go again?"

"Hell yeah, I want to see if I can even do it again!" Sheriff and Zelda picked up their guitars and chose another song. They completed that song and then a third. "This is awesome! I've never done this well at this game!"

"G.G. Zelda!" Mrs. Packman remarked. Sheriff and Z hadn't even noticed her and the rest of the Retros returning from their dinner break.

"We brought you guys back some Pizza Dunks!" Daisy held out a pizza tube to both Zelda and Sheriff. They each slipped a tube out of her hands and took a break from the game. When Z and Sheriff finished their pizzas, They returned to _Axe Legends_ for a final song.

"Great work today everyone!" Mario addressed the Retros when their practice session came to an end. "We probably won't beat the rhythm kids this weekend, but at least we'll have fun. So, everyone's playing this weekend, Sheriff, Laura Croft, Bowser and Megaman, you four are in on this too. We need everyone we can out there. And I almost forgot, our jackets came in, just in time for Parent's Day! So my big five, see me for your jacket before you leave. Other than that, go home and get some rest, parents start arriving tomorrow!" Zelda collected her green varsity jacket from Mario before saying goodbye and leaving the room.

"Z, you're going to do great this weekend!" Sheriff called as he followed her down the hall.

"Thanks Sheriff." Z smiled. "Really, if it weren't for you, Mario would definitely would have benched me! If there's anything I can do for you..."

"How about a date?" Sheriff suggested seriously.

"A, uh, a d-date?" She stammered. It had been a week since Brian had told Zelda he just wanted to be friends. She hadn't really thought about dating anyone since then. Getting rejected once was enough for her. But this was different. Sheriff was asking to "hang out", he said very specifically a date. It couldn't hurt to go on just one date could it? As if reading her mind, Sheriff rushed to interject.

"Totally no strings attached!" He assured her. "I was thinking dinner or a movie or both! And if you hate it or me, we never have to go out again. We'll go right back to being teammates and I'll pretend it never happened. "

"Okay, yeah. A date sounds nice." Zelda smiled. "But not until after the Parent's Day Showcase alright?"

"It's a date then m'lady!" Sheriff smiled back and tipped his hat too her.

"See you then."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Thank you to nutmegan56 for your review of Chapter 13! I was not aware that it's spelled "Lara" which is totally my bad for not double checking myself! I apologize and will correct the name in the future. I picked Sheriff because I thought he would be the most "Plot Twisty", but he will get a bit more character development on their upcoming date. Chapter 14 is the beginning of parents day/parents weekend. Thanks to everyone for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following! Please enjoy Chapter 14!**

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><p>Zelda waiting in the quad impatiently for her parents to arrive. Leo had called yesterday to tell her that he would be arriving with Mr. and Mrs. Kovac at eleven AM. They were fifteen minutes late. Z wasn't the only VGHS student eagerly awaiting the arrival of her parents. Several others were scattered around the quad with their eyes focused on the parking lot. Off in the distance Zelda spotted an expensive looking rental car that parked in the back of the lot. A minute later Leo stepped out of the car and she ran towards him. By the time she reached the car both Zelda's parents had already stepped out. Mr. Kovac was a tall man with brown hair. He'd arrived to VGHS in his usual dress, a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a blazer. Mrs. Kovac was average height, and to Z she always dressed like Audrey Hepburn, fun but sophisticated.<p>

"Mum! Dad! Leo!" Zelda exclaimed as she charged towards her family. "I'm so glad you came!" She flung her arms around her Dad's neck first since he was the closest.

"You didn't think we'd send you across the country to school and not visit, did you?" Mrs. Kovac asked, hugging her daughter.

"No, of course not." Z laughed. "But I can't wait to show you around!"

"Lead the way Princess." Mr. Kovac insisted.

"Are you coming Leo?" Zelda asked.

"I'm afraid not Miss Z." Leo replied. "I'll be returning to the hotel to unpack your parent's things."

"Oh, Okay." Z had wanted to show Leo the school too, but she understood that he had responsibilities. "I guess we'll see you later then?"

"Certainly Miss." Leo nodded.

"Zelda, show us where you live!" Her mother insisted.

"Alright," Z agreed. "Follow me." Like a miniature parade, Z and her parents made their way to the dorm building and up to Frag Floor.

"This is Frag Floor." Zelda announced to her parents. "Most of the Freshmen live her. And this, is my room." The door to Z and Kat's room was already open because Kat's family had arrived earlier that day. When Zelda and her parents entered the room Kat was sitting on the couch with her five year old sister, Katie, in her lap. Kat's ten year old brother Kyle was seat at her work station. All three kids were playing a board game with their parents. Z introduced her parents to her roommate and her roommate's family.

"This room is so small." Mrs. Kovac frowned.

"They're fifteen," Mr. Kovac laughed. "How much room could they need?"

"I'm hardly ever in here anyway." Zelda told her parents."I'm either at practice or hanging with Kat and our other friends."

"Well I can't wait to meet them all." Her dad smiled warmly.

"You'll meet my Retro teammates tomorrow after the showcase." Z explained. "But Ki might be around. She's the frag floor RA, and she wanted to meet all of our parents anyway."

"Yeah," Kat added in. "Ki was in the common room when my folks got here."

"Well, let's meet Miss Ki then!" Zelda's mother insisted.

"Common room's down here at the end of the hall." Z showed her parents the way to the Frag Floor common area where Ki sat behind a table under a "Welcome Parents" banner. Ted and Brian sat on each side of her, the three friends were chatting animatedly about something as the Kovac's approached.

"Zelda, Hi!" Ki rose to her feet as the room's new occupants reached the table.

"Hi Ki, Ted, Brian." Z greeted her friends. It wasn't the first time she had seen Brian since the awkward incident a week ago. Both parties had been unnaturally polite to each other every time they came in contact, which was a positive alternative to natural avoidance.

"Mum, Dad, this Ki Swan, my RA. Her boyfriend Ted and Ted's Roommate Brian. Brian was also my Welcome Buddy, he showed me around when I first got here."

"Well thank you Brian for taking care of our little girl." Mr. Kovac said shaking Brian's hand. "And you too Miss Swan. Being a Resident Advisor is not easy task." Zelda's Dad shook Ki's hand next while his daughter rolled her eyes.

"Dad was an RA in college." She explained.

"And what was your name again young man?" Mr. Kovac asked Ted.

"Uh, Ted Wong sir." He replied shaking the Billionaire's hand.

"Was your father by chance..."

"Freddie Wong?" Ted rubbed the back of his neck. "Three time _Guitar Hero_ World Champion and mascot of _Axe Legends_? Yup." He admitted almost embarrassingly.

"I thought you looked familiar." Z's dad nodded. "We met once, you were eight so I don't expect you to remember, but I presented your dad with his second _Guitar Hero_ Championship award."

"Oh, Well then it's nice to see you again sir." Ted smiled. It was nice to be recognized, kind of.

"Enough of this 'sir' business! Just call me Mr. K. All of you, please call me Mr. K!"

"So Ted, are you a Rhythm gamer like you dad?" Zelda's mom asked.

"Ted, is the Captain of the Drifters Mom, and Kat's a Drifter too." Zelda reminded.

"Oh yes that's right." Mrs. Kovac nodded. "And what sort of games do you play Brian, Ki?"

"I'm the captain of the FPS Team Mrs. K." Brian explained.

"And I'm undeclared." Ki said. "I came to VGHS to study all types of games, because I want to make them like my parents."

"You're parents? Zelda said your last name is Swan, are you Ken and Karen's daughter Kimberly?" Mr. K questioned the RA.

"Yes, she is!" A familiar voice announced from behind the Kovacs. Six pairs of eyes turned to see Kenneth Swan entering the common room.

"Daddy!" Ki Greeted her Dad with a smile and a Kiss on the cheek.

"How are you Kiwi?" Mr. Swan asked.

"Daddy!" Ted exclaimed. He jumped over the table and nearly tackled Mr. Swan to the ground.

"Oof! Hello to you too Ted." Ken Swan, who was now use to Ki's overly affectionate boyfriend, braced himself to prevent both men from toppling to the ground. Ted and Ken separated, leaving Mr. K the opportunity to shake hands with his colleague.

"Andy, good to see you!" Mr. Swan greeted him. " And this must be your lovely wife, Elaine, I heard so much about." Ken and Z's mom exchanged a handshake. "What brings you two here?"

"Mr. K's daughter Zelda is one of my residents Daddy." Ki explained.

"Zelda, what an unusual name." Z shook Mr. Swan's hand. "Nice firm grip you have there Miss Kovac."

"Learned it from my Dad." The girl said.

"You know, your father and I go way back." Mr. Swan told Zelda.

"Well were classmates at the University of Game Development and Technology." Zelda's dad recollected.

"That's how I knew exactly who to call last year when I needed some computer engineering help on that fighting console last year." Mr. Swan chuckled.

"Ken, I know you just got here, but how about we all go out and get some lunch? The five of us, Brian and Ted too." Mrs. Kovac suggested.

"Oh, our treat of course!" Mr. Kovac interjected.

"Well, I am always free for a luncheon with friends, but is it alright for you to leave Kiwi? I know you have responsibilities as Resident Advisior." Mr. Swan said to his daughter.

"I'm sure I won't be missed if we go out for a little bit. Besides a lot of parents are only arriving tomorrow for the showcase." Ki replied.

"Brian, Ted, you're coming too, right?" Z asked. Brian didn't answer right away. He still enjoyed spending time with Zelda, but didn't want to force his friend into another awkward situation. Brian decided to wait for Ted to respond first.

"Heck yes we're coming!" Ted said excitedly.

"Excellent!" Mr. Kovac said, reaching for his cell phone. "I'll call our driver."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/n: Thank you to asanion for your review of Chapter 14! I'm glad to hear that you think this story is amazing! IT's always nice to know my work is enjoyed! Towards the end of this chapter there's a nice speech given by Ted about Freddie, I hope it's not too OOC! Please let me know what y'all think in the reviews!**

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><p>After lunch Zelda gave her parents a tour of the school before joining them at their hotel for the night. Brian met his varsity team at the FPS Bunker for a final practice before the showcase the next day. Ted, Ki and Mr. Swan were cutting through the main building on their way back to the dorms when they ran into Calhoun.<p>

"Ted Wong, just who I was looking for." Calhoun said dryly. "Listen the PTA and the school administrators want to rename the rhythm wing."

"Okay." Ted shrugged. The PTA didn't have to check with him before they randomly renamed the building. Ted started walking off in the directed he, Ki and Mr. Swan were headed before Calhoun interrupted them.

"They want to name it the Freddie Wong Memorial Rhythm Conservatory." Calhoun explained.

"Okay." Ted shrugged again. Sure Freddie had been an absentee dad, but he'd been a legendary rhythm gamer...at some point.

"They want you to write a speech about your father." The dean elaborated. Now Ted understood why Calhoun was mentioning the ceremony to him. "I would have told you sooner, but I just found out this morning."

"No!" Ted said suddenly, spinning around to face Calhoun. "No! My dad was a jerk!" Ted huffed. He doesn't deserve for me to say nice things about him."

"And I don't deserve to be stuck here babysitting noobs everyday." Calhoun's voice lacked all sympathy. "Yet here I am! Life's not a game Ted! You can't just drift through the fun levels and skip the dramatic cut scenes. Not today kiddo. Write the speech." He frowned down at the empty coffee cup in his hand. "I need more coffee." He mumbled before walking away.

"I guess I have a speech to write." Ted groaned. "Maybe I should call Jenny, ask her for tips on how to write a speech for parents who suck!" Ted wondered off with a grim look on his face.

"Kiwi, I think it'd be best if I went home now. Ted's going to need your help." Mr. Swan concluded logically. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Okay. Do you think Ted's going to be alright?" Ki questioned.

"I think as long as he has you by his side, he's going to be just fine." Ki and her dad said their good-byes before she followed after Ted.

"Ted!" She called, chasing him down the hall. "Let me help you with your speech."

"Why would you want to? He didn't even like you." Ki looped her arm around Ted's so they were walking hand in hand. "He didn't like anybody...nobody except himself!"

"It's true your father and I were not...close. But I care about _you_ Ted. And you shouldn't have to write this speech by yourself. Perhaps together, we can write an objective piece about Freddie Wong the Rhythm Legend, instead of a more...controversial piece about Freddie Wang the father." Ki suggested.

"Yeah." Ted began to relax as he considered what Ki was offering. "Like a book report, nothing but facts!"

"Exactly!" Ki agreed.

The next morning parents and students of all clans and classes filed into the seats of the Grand Theft Auditorium. It was one of the few times a year where the entire student body was under one roof. The GTA stage was preset for day's first event, the Freddie Wong dedication. between the two rows of adjacent workstations, someone, probably Brian, had set up a podium. Once to auditorium was full; the monitors that usually projected game play and team scores, would begin to play a montage of Freddie's career as a gamer and eventual teacher.

Z sat in the stadium with her parents to the right and Mr. Swan on her left. Ki and Ted were in the same row, to the left of Mr. Swan, their heads together reading over a printed document. One row back, Brian and Kat sat directly behind Zelda. Katie and the rest of Kat's family were sitting to her left.

"Did either of you talk to Ted or Ki last night?" Brian whispered to Kat and Z.

"I spent the afternoon with my parents after lunch yesterday." Zelda reminded him.

"And I didn't leave our room _all day_." Is wasn't that Kat hated having her family in town, but there presence was starting to wear her down.

"Ted had to write a speech about his dad..." Brian said.

"Ohh." The girls muttered in unison. It had somehow come up in conversation awhile ago, that Ted hadn't had the best relationship with his father.

"What's the speech for?" Zelda whispered back to Brian.

"They're renaming the Rhythm wing in honor of Freddie." Brian elaborated.

"Welcome, parents and students to Grand Theft Auditorium and to the first Parent's Day Gaming Showcase." Dean Calhoun greeted the massive gathering of people. "Grand Theft Auditorium is the place where noobs become heroes and legends are born. Before we start our showcase the Parent Teacher's Association would like to present their annual 'Parent of the Year' award." A stiff man in a grey suit replaced Calhoun at the podium.

"In lieu of the PTA's annual Parent of the Year Award." The man said dryly. "We decided instead to honor one of VGHS's own, former Rhythm instructor, Freddie Wong. To speak about Mr. Wong's accomplishments, we asked his son, Ted, to say a few words." Ted looked down the row at his friends for support. Ki and Zelda smiled back encouragingly. Kat leaned forward, each hand sporting a thumbs up.

"You're going to do great buddy!" Brian called to his best friend as he got to his feet. Ted took to the podium, tightly gripping his speech between his hands.

"Hello!" Ted shouted to the room a little too loud. "Ah, hi." He said a little softer. "I'm, Ted Wong, you might also know me as DK." Ted paused his speech when a series of whoops erupted from his fellow Drifters. "What a lot of people didn't know, is that Freddie Wong, was my dad. At least biologically." Ted took a deep breath. "Freddie and I lived in separate homes for most of my life. And when I was a freshman here at VGHS he told me I was going to have to start paying father support. For those you not aware, father support, yeah that's when a kid pays their dad money." There was a hint of bitterness in Ted's voice as he talked. "And no, I didn't expect any of you to actually have heard of it, since Freddie made it up." There was laughter and chuckling around the stadium from some of the people who knew Freddie. "My point is, Freddie Wong wasn't a great dad in the traditional sense. He didn't help me with school projects growing up, or teach me how to drive. But he did teach me that one of the most important things you can do is follow your dreams." By now Ted had captivated the full attention of his audience. Even Ki, who helped write the speech, was sitting in the edge of her seat. "Freddie Wong is best known as either the three time _Guitar Hero_ world champion or the mascot for the popular rhythm game _Axe Legends._ But to his students studying rhythm gaming at VGHS, Freddie was more than a mascot. He inspired future shredders year after year. So, it is my honor to announce the Video Game High School Rhythm wing, will be renamed, the Freddie Wong Memorial Rhythm Conservatory."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/n: Thank you too Harrison, Nutmegan56 and asaonin for your reviews of Chapters 9, 14, & 15. I'm sorry you've had to wait so long for an update, I get distracted pretty easily when I get an idea for a new fic. My most recent distraction has been a piece of work based on _The Santa Clause._ I do have a lot going on IRL, so I don't know how often I'll be updating any stories, but I will try my best to get some new Chapters out to you by the first few weeks of January. For now please enjoy Chapter 16 and I hope it's not a major disappointment after making you wait so long! **

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><p>"Thank you Mr. Wong." Dean Calhoun grumbled as Ted returned to his seat. "When the administration decided we would hold a Parent's Day Gaming Showcase, it was determined that each clan or class would present something for you all today. However, we've got a five rouges who've neglected to declare a major. These rouges, led by Ki Swan, will now give a presentation on the History of Video Game High School."<p>

Students around the auditorium groan as Ki stood behind the podium. It was required of all Freshman to take History of Gaming so many of them felt they shouldn't have to hear the history of VGHS on the day of their showcase. Z, Brian, Kat and Ted listened intently to the rouge's presentation and it surprised everyone how interesting it actually was. The rogues talk about how VGHS was born during the early rise in video game popularity. When the school first started it only offered five majors; racing, platformers, FPS, RPG and fighting. As video game culture grew so did VGHS. New classes for things like Social Gaming and Rhythm were added to increase the school's relevance in the gaming world. Five years after opening the dorm building was built and ten years later the Grand Theft Auditorium followed. Ki ended the presentation with a quick photo montage of all the former VGHS students who'd made it into professional leagues. Students, Parents and teachers alike whooped and hollered when their favorite players flashed onscreen.

The rouge's presentation was followed by a few rounds of fighting games from the Fighting Varsity and Junior Varsity teams. Then Ted, Kat and the rest of the Drifters teamed up against the Kart team for a best out of three Banana Kart showdown. It was a landslide victory for the Drifters winning by only a hundred points. At long last it was time for the Rhythm versus Retro _Axe Legends_ challenge. The stage was cleared of everything except two plastic guitars. Sonic, Mario, Luigi, Daisy, Zelda and Mrs. Pacman all sat on a bench to the left of the stage. The team's four alternate players, Lara Croft, Sheriff, Bowser, and Megaman sat in the row behind them. The Retro's six green varsity jackets contrasted with the red jackets of their Rhythm opponents who sat to the right of the stage. The gamers waited patiently for the official scrimmage rules to be read aloud for the audience.

It was simple enough one player from each team would step forward and together they would play the same song. The player with the higher score won that round. Play continued in the same way until either the Rhythms or the Retros had won five rounds. In the event of a draw two new players would step up for the next song. All players would play on the impossible skill

so as to level the playing field as much as possible. Sonic was the first up from the Retro team and it wasn't much of a surprise that he'd been crushed by his Rhythm opponent. After all the Rhythm gamers lived for games like _Axe Legends_. A short lived victory was celebrated when Mario tied with the Rhythm captain during the second round. Luigi took the stadium by surprise when he conquered his opponent without breaking a sweat, but fans of the Rhythm team were disappointed by Daisy's epic loss in the fourth round.

It was Z's turn at bat during the fifth round of the game. Loud cheers erupted from the crowed auditorium in support of the computer mogul's daughter, but the loudest cheers came from the section where her parents and friends were seated. She gripped her plastic guitar tightly as the song began to play. A defeated feeling started to creep in on her when she missed the first note, and then the second. She took in a deep breath and tried to remember what Sheriff had taught her. Concentrating, she was able to improve her score and note by note and achieve a tie with her Rhythm opponent.

The competition was heating up as the Rhythm gamers led four to three. Mario hadn't expected his team to win the scrimmage that day. He just wanted them to go out and play with their hearts in the consoles. He was ecstatic when Mrs. Packman won her round, tying things up four to four. With all the Varsity players having already competed it was time to select an alternate player for the last round of the scrimmage. Sure he could have picked any of the four alternate players and hoped they did well, but they'd made it this far and a victory was so close he might as well put all his cards on the table. So who was the best of the alternate players? Then he remembered what a great job Sheriff had done getting Z all the way up to the impossible skill level.

"Sheriff, you're in!" The Retro captain ordered. The final round of the Retro versus Rhythm scrimmage couldn't have lasted more than three minutes, as that was the length of the final song, but for Sheriff it seemed to go on for hours. Naturally he wanted to win the challenge for the team, but he also really wanted to impress Zelda. He noticed that the younger girl had quickly made friends with both the Drifting and FPS captains as well as the ever intelligent Ki Swan. Z gravitated towards exceptional people, and Sheriff didn't want to be forgotten among VGHS's more notable students. With controlled fingers and ironclad determination, he won the final round of the scrimmage.

"You did it!" Zelda remarked as the team joined him on stage for a celebration. The others were saying things too, but the only thing he noticed was the celebratory kiss on the cheek he received from the prettiest girl on the team.


End file.
